Prince of Thieves
by Nessandra
Summary: Royal!AU. Fire Dragon Prince Natsu just recently found out that he is the King and Queen's long lost son. Now, just a year later, he's having dreams of dark blue eyes and black hair taking him on reckless and illegal adventures. Is he going to find this mystery person? And will his royal parents approve of his choice?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

If Ever There Was A Chance For Dreams To Come True

The days were always boring. Day in and day out, the same routine, over and over again. Natsu was beginning to get bored. When he first found out that he was the long-lost Fire Dragon Prince he was ecstatic, jumping for joy at the thought of no longer being an orphan, of being able to live in the arching gray-stone and gold castle that he'd gazed upon wistfully for the first eighteen years of his life. Now, on his nineteenth birthday, he had everything he'd dreamed of, but yet he was not happy.

He dreamed of new things now—adventurous, dangerous, even illegal things. He dreamed of dark blue eyes, and evading the police; of cold fingers, and running through the forest. No matter how Natsu looked at it, that's where he wanted to be. He wanted this unseen person—a beautiful girl, he was sure—and he wanted to act like a stupid teenager again. Perhaps they'd be a sort of Robin Hood, using his status to steal money and giving it to the poor people of the kingdom—the one's who had raised him.

As Natsu stared out the window, watching the bustling streets of the kingdom— _his_ kingdom—he wondered where his mystery girl could be. Maybe he'd already met her, or perhaps he was going to meet her soon. He hoped so. Lately all he wanted to do was sleep, to immerse himself in his dreams, but he was afraid that if he clung to this fleeting hope of a girl, he'd miss the real thing when she came.

"My Prince!" Natsu turned as he was called, seeing his favorite chambermaid, a little blonde thing that went by the name of Lucy, with a large bust for good measure, trotting towards him, her pretty crimson dress flowing in waves around her feet as they moved. His small, oddly blue cat named Happy, trailed behind her, giving off little titters of sound as they moved closer. Natsu smiled at them and held out his hand, allowing the bubbly girl to take it. Happy quickly jumped up and, using Natsu's clothes as leverage, made his way up to Natsu's shoulder; it was a precarious perch, but the cat seemed content. "My Prince, your father would like to speak with you," Lucy chimed.

Natsu nodded and moved her hand up so that she was grasping at his crooked elbow before making his way towards the grand staircase, with her in tow. As he thought about it, he decided he wouldn't mind very much if Lucy was his mystery girl, but her touch was much too warm, and her eyes were not that enticing dark blue that Natsu saw when he closed his eyes. No, Lucy was much too naive for the adventures he dreamed up.

The trek down the staircase always seemed as if it was a million miles long, and though it was not difficult for Natsu, who made an effort to stay in exceptional shape, the sheer monotony of the trip winded him. Whenever he went with Lucy it was bearable—she would hum soft little tunes, and would focus on that, and even hum or whistle along if he recognized one. The long hallway one had to walk along after the stairs felt much the same way. It seemed like such a lengthy trudge just to get from the foyer to the throne room.

The looming thrones of the Lightning Dragon King and his wife still intimidated Natsu, even after a year of living in the palace and viewing these people as his parents. The King—a bulking blonde with a scar across his face who went by the name of Laxus—sat on a gold-upholstered throne, his elbows nesting on his knees and his face laying inattentively in his hands. The Devil Queen sat with a straight back, hands clasped in her lap, looking every bit as regal as a queen should. She was a petite woman with hair that resembled freshly fallen snow, who went by the name Mirajane. However, despite her sweet exterior, around the kingdom she was known somewhat affectionately as the She-Devil for reasons Natsu did not fully know, other than because it was technically her title. The rumor was that if something did not go her way, she was a match fit for Satan himself.

"Son," Laxus boomed, taking his head out of his hands and leaning forward, an act that would make others fearful, but that Natsu had learned long was nothing more than a ruse. "Happy birthday." Natsu had to refrain from snorting at the sentiment. He was sure that the only reason Laxus remembered was because Wendy or Levy, his dearest palace librarian, had reminded him.

"Happy birthday, darling," Mirajane chimed in from beside her husband, her voice sounding as sweet as birdsong in the mornings, and sent Natsu a kind smile that made him smile back. Mira was always his favorite of the two—probably everyone's favorite of the two—if only because he could tell that she honestly cared for him. Natsu was fairly certain that Laxus either didn't believe Natsu was his son or didn't want him to be. Natsu didn't mind, however. According to Sting, Laxus had never been much of a father.

Since coming to the palace, Natsu had learned that he had four siblings, who were all supposed to be at the party; an older brother by three or four years named Gajeel, disowned for crimes Natsu had no knowledge of, another brother named Sting who he had talked to very briefly, only older than Natsu by a year, but he didn't live at the palace because he was the product of Laxus's unfaithfulness, and a final brother the same age as Sting who Natsu knew as Rogue but had never met, this one the product of Mira's unfaithfulness—apparently they'd had a falling out at that time—and Natsu's favorite, a younger sister named Wendy. He could see the small girl enter the room from the corner of his eye, her deep blue hair done up all pretty, with a dozen sparkling pins, and pieces curled to frame her face for the celebration planned later that day. He turned towards her and grinned goofy, making the girl giggle. "Happy birthday, bubba!" She called out to him as she made her way across the room to wrap her arms tightly around his middle, her head barely coming up to his chest.

"Thanks, Wendy," he chuckled, petting a part of her hair that wasn't in the elaborate up-do Lucy had probably done that morning. The little princess beamed up at him before releasing her hold and standing next to him with her hands clasped in front of her, looking every bit like her mother with her chin up and enough confidence radiating off of her to perk Natsu up.

Mirajane smile down at the sight of her children, and Natsu felt his chest swell with a feeling of love and attachment. "Are you ready for the celebration this evening?" Mira asked. She looked to Wendy first. "I'm assuming you're going with Romeo, of course." She turned to Natsu. "And you? Who are you taking?"

Natsu grinned cheekily at his mother. "I'm going stag," he said mischievously, "that way I can dance with _all_ the beautiful young women that gather to celebrate my birthday."

Wendy giggled at his antics and Mira simply rolled her eyes. "Natsu," she scolded, "you are nineteen. It is time for you to choose a bride, not to have frivolous affairs throughout the kingdom with everything on two legs."

Natsu saw his sister blush out of the corner of his eye and chuckled. "Believe it or not, I do have standards, mother-dearest." He grinned up at his parents. "But I am hoping to find her soon. Tonight, preferably."

Laxus raised his eyebrows. "Tonight? Half of the kingdom and three others are going to be in this very room, and you want to scavenge for a suitable royal through _that_ chaos?"

Natsu shrugged. "Why does it even have to be a royal?"

The party was in full swing—half of Magnolia and three or four other kingdoms were twirling around the throne room. Even the twin princesses from Edolas had made an appearance—at least they told everyone they were twins, but really one of them looked suspiciously like Lucy and the other like Cana, the nice girl who owned a pub near the bottom of the palace who'd helped Natsu out a time or two while he was on the streets. Though he could see people from other towns among the crowd, the only other royal he had seen so far was Lyon Vastia, an Earl from Galuna whom his parents had wanted him to befriend for the longest time, but he hadn't gotten around to it.

He had however met his three brothers. He'd caught Gajeel—the Iron Dragon Prince—swiping drinks from the other guests, and had quickly put a stop to it. Mirajane and Laxus had left with him to either talk some sense into him or escort him out, but Natsu didn't mind either way. He wasn't even sure why Gajeel had been invited when, according to Mira, Gajeel was no longer considered family. Sting and Rogue—the Light Dragon and Shadow Dragon Princes, respectively—had been another matter entirely. Mira had encouraged Natsu to introduce himself, so he searched them out. He'd found them leaning against the far wall, looking uncomfortable at such a large gathering, where Mira and Laxus were effectively ignoring their respective sons. It was obvious to Natsu by the way they stuck close to each other, shoulders or hands always touching, that they were more than friends, which they admitted to Natsu. It had seemed weird at first, since both were his brothers, but he kept reminding himself that they were not related to each other. Rogue was quiet, especially when their relationship was brought up, but Sting seemed more than happy to show off his boyfriend, and smirked at the way Rogue squirmed in discomfort. All in all, they were a weird couple, but Natsu liked them just the same. Later they went to find their respective parents to say hello and good-bye. They'd promised to visit Natsu in the near future before they had left.

After all that excitement, Natsu was perfectly content sitting at the bar with a small glass of some kind of juice Cana had concocted when he'd told her he didn't want to get drunk. So far, the only people that had bothered him were Wendy when she'd asked to dance and Lucy, who also asked to dance, but probably more so that he would do something instead of just to dance with him on his birthday. Now he could see Wendy dancing with Romeo, a bright blush on her cheeks and a large grin on his face. He could also see Lucy and Erza—the head of Magnolia's large cavalry—dancing discreetly in the corner of the room. Lucy was laughing animatedly, and Erza looked enthralled with everything the blonde was doing. It made Natsu smile knowing they were happy, even if people may disapprove o their relationship. He'd noticed the Cana look-alike eying him from across the room, but he refused to make eye contact or acknowledge her. Just because his father wanted him to marry a royal didn't mean he was going to fling himself at any one of them who gave him goo-goo eyes.

Natsu kept scanning the crowd for a head of soft black hair and startling deep blue eyes, but he had yet to find the girl that kept haunting him in his dreams. Even if in the end nothing worked out, he at least wanted to see what she looked like, to have a bright, brave face to go with the adventures she took him on every other night.

"Nice party," came a deep voice from his right. Natsu looked over to see a head of black hair, and his throat caught but he quickly gathered himself. After all, that voice and that body were not those of a pretty young woman. However, that deep, gravelly voice and carefree body that was slouched over the bar, a drink held to his pale lips with a strong arm, were nothing to laugh at.

"Heh, yeah," Natsu forced out nonchalantly, downing the rest of the juice that he just realized must have been raspberries and some other fruit. "It was kinda forced on me, though."

The man looked towards Natsu. "You're the birthday boy, then." A statement. "Natsu, right? Just turned nineteen?"

Hearing his name fall from those lips—which were now smirking at him, drink forgotten and resting against the bottom one—made a chill run down Natsu's spine.

"Y-yeah," he forced out, setting his glass down when he noticed his hand was shaking and standing straighter. "What about you?" he breathed, desperately hoping that this man's name was as breathtaking as the rest of him.

The dark-haired man chuckled. "I just turned 21 myself," he told the prince. "I'm Gray," he murmured, bodily turning towards Natsu and holding his hand out. "Happy birthday."

It wasn't the man's name that had Natsu rooted to his spot, even though it was beautiful, especially in that voice. It was what he saw when Gray's face became more visible.

Dark blue eyes.

And when Natsu finally found himself and remembered that it would be odd not to shake his hand—

Cold fingers.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights go to Hiro Mashima. Except this plot line. Which was entirely inspired by Natsu's get up during the Oracion Seis arc.**

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

 _If Ever There Was A Chance For Lives To Change_

Fate was a cruel woman. She had no consideration for those who were beneath her and their feelings. She cared not for the way one's life could be ruined within a few seconds, or a single glance. It was as if she _wanted_ people to be in pain, as if she relished in the mental agony and the physical torment that came with her horrible punishments. A select few fell into her good graces, were blessed, and received everything they desired.

Natsu definitely did not feel like one of those people. Hiss heart may have raced, and his face may have heated up, but in the grand scheme of things, this was _not_ what was supposed to happen to him. He thought he was supposed to meet a pretty _girl_ that had those deep, dark eyes, and he would sweep her off of her feet, and they would travel to the most exotic places and do the most stupid and dangerous of things.

He definitely was not supposed to melt under the icy gaze and cold grip of the man standing before him.

"Gray," Natsu repeated softly, slowly letting go of said man's hand, giving him a shaky smile and finally taking a seat at the bar. Cana, whose playful smirk told Natsu that she'd witnessed the entire scene, had refilled Natsu's glass of juice and set it in front of him with a wink. He scowled at her and took a large sip to sooth his nerves, but it didn't make him feel better. He could _feel_ the icy chill of the man sitting next to him, and still see those haunting eyes without ever turning towards him.

"I think you know my brother," Gray said casually, taking his own seat next to Natsu instead of continuing to lean against the bar. When Natsu hadn't been paying attention, Gary had had his glass refilled as well—this time with something pink, almost the color of Natsu's unruly hair. Natsu was 98% sure that the similarity was Cana's fault. "Lyon Vastia is my brother."

Natsu didn't know whether to jump for joy or sigh dramatically and give up on everything. ON one hand, that made Gray a prince, which meant his parents were more likely to approve of this man from his dreams. On the other hand, Gray was prince, which meant there was no way he could be the man of Natsu's dreams. "Yeah, I know Lyon, in passing at least. My parents have been pushing me to become friends with him. Some spiel about needing better relations with Galuna," Natsu said rather grumpily.

Gray chuckled at Natsu's frustration. "It's cool, man. Our parents have been feeding Lyon the same thing. Last time they talked about it though, mom actually suggested arranging a _marriage_ for you two."

Natsu made a gagging noise in the back of his throat. "No. You're brother is _not_ my type." Gray snorted at Natsu's reaction and shrugged his shoulders. Then Natsu got curious and decided to change the subject. "I thought the Vastia's only had one son, though."

"They do," Gray answered automatically. "Mom cheated a year or two after Lyon was born. Technically I'm a Fullbuster."

Natsu snorted. "Laxus still thinks I'm not his real son, so I guess I kind of understand how that would feel."

"Well," Gray started, "they wouldn't have to wonder if they hadn't manage to _lose_ a _baby_. How did they even accomplish that?

"Apparently, they went on vacation, and I was stolen from their hotel room while they were asleep." Natsu shook his head. "I wouldn't know by who,though. Surely not my dad—he's too kindhearted."

Natsu looked over at Gray and saw Gray smiling over at him. Not just a smirk or a simple curve of the lips, but a real smile that reached his eyes and crinkled the corners. Natsu scowled at him, not understanding what he had to smile about, but Gray just chuckled in response, that blasted smile still curling the corners of his mouth. "What on Earth is so funny?" Natsu wondered.

Gray licked his lips and took a swig of the pink concoction in his glass, looking rather pleased with the taste. "It's just that..." He looked over at the the pink-haired prince again, and then back to his drink, and then to Natsu again, another smile gracing his features as he seemingly realized the same thing about his drink Natsu already had. "You never wanted to be the Prince, did you?"

Natsu raised his eyebrows, both impressed and worried. Impressed because Gray had figured it out too quickly; worried because Gray had seen through him so easily. Before he could catch himself, Natsu began slowly shaking his head. "No," he said. "I never did."

A look that could only be described as incredulous crossed his features, but before Gray could get another word out, Wendy came bouncing over to them, her voice rising above the sea of chatter. "Bubba! Bubba!" She reached the two mean and placed her hands on Natsu's knees, leaning closer to him. "Bubba! Mom and Dad want us in the foyer. Something about a 'family gathering' before Sting and Rogue leave." She made air quotes around "family gathering" and began to tug on Natsu's sleeve. "Come _on_ , Bubba!"

Natsu looked over at Gray with pleasing eyes, not wanting to leave this chilly man for what he was sure would be an unpleasant goodbye. Gray simply beamed at him, waving him away with a thumb up for encouragement. Natsu stuck his tongue out at the ravenette childishly as Wendy—a strong little thing when she was determined—began to drag him through the crowded room.

The nearly empty foyer felt much too big after coming out of the swamped throne room. Laxus, Mira, Sting, Rogue, and even Gajeel were gathered at the bottom of the hellish staircase. Sting and Rogue were attached at the hip, Sting's arm slung protectively around the other, uncomfortable with whatever situation this was supposed to be. Gajeel was sitting three stairs up, his head in one hand, a bottle cap being flipped with the other. Mira looked absolutely exasperated and Laxus looked just plain angry. At Natsu's side, Wendy slowed down when she saw the expressions their parents wore.

Natsu took hold of his little sister's hand to comfort her as they came to stand in front of Mira and Laxus. Mira's eyes lit up and Laxus' face softened at seeing them, and Natsu was certain that there had been some exceedingly terse conversation between their illegitimate sons and each other. Gajeel's bored face had turned into something of a smirk at their approach. Natsu scowled at his brother and held Wendy's hand tighter.

"Well," Laxus began, standing straighter, trying his damnedest to look intimidating. Natsu rolled his eyes at the act. "We have a few things to address as a family before Sting and Rogue head back to Sabertooth and Gajeel is kicked out."

"Hey now, Pops," Gajeel's rough voice matched the smirk on his face. "That hurts, ya know."

Laxus sneered at his eldest son. "You're not funny, Gajeel."

Mira stepped in before an argument could be started. "The point is, we have quite a few things that are going to be happening soon. In the coming month, Sting and Rogue are going to be wed, and the _entire family,_ " she looked pointedly at Gajeel, "is going to attend." Laxus scowled at the prospect, but Natsu gave a bright smile to the awkward couple. "Next off, after a lot of fighting and careful consideration, Gajeel will be moving back into the palace next week, though he will not regain his standing as a Prince." The whole family collectively groaned, and Gajeel glared at each of them in turn. "Lastly, Rogue and Sting have decided to have their honeymoon in Galuna. "She looked to Natsu then. "You'll be going with them as Magnolia's royal representative, seeing as their honeymoon falls on the days we wanted to go to Galuna to talk about relations anyway. It'll make it easier for us to do that if we send you, since we won't have to leave the kingdom unattended this way."

Natsu's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. "Why am _I_ in charge of strengthening our relationship with Galuna? Why can't you go yourselves and work out a treaty? I know we're on the brink of war."

Rogue and Sting looked as if they were getting even more uncomfortable as time passed. "Natsu," Laxus cut in, "it's time for your brothers to leave. See them off. We'll talk more about this later." Natsu snarled in response and led Sting and Rogue to the door.

* * *

It turns out that when Laxus had said "later", he had meant ignoring anything Natsu said about it until the day of the wedding. The Fire Prince had been perfectly content watching Lucy fuss over his choice of tunic when his self-proclaimed father burst into the room and asked for her to leave. "Family business," he had said.

"I figured I should probably give you the rundown before the weeing, Laxus began, sitting on the vanity that Natsu had been using to fix his hair. "As you know, the Galuna royals have been invited to the wedding—relations, as usual. I've taken this opportunity to speak with the King and Queen about a, uh... _union_ , of sorts. It's the perfect time, too, especially since you'll be headed off to Galuna with your brothers to rekindle our alliance, anyway.

"So, it's been decided. Lyon Vastia, the Ice Prince, will accompany you to the wedding, from which you both will head back to Galuna, where you'll spend time to get to know each other better and talk politics with his parents while wedding plans are made. Of course, you'll make sure my son and Rogue are having a nice honeymoon in your spare time. How's that sound?"

Natsu stood with his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. When he replies his voice was tight, and his throat felt strained. "I thought our kingdom no longer took part in arranged marriages." It was all he could bear to say. He felt angry and sad. In the back of his mind there was a fleeting glimpse of midnight-blue eyes, but the rational part of his mind told him that Gray was not the person he thought he'd wanted, that the blue eyes were supposed to remain in his dreams. _This is best for the kingdom_ , he reminded himself.

But the mischievous part of his mind reminded him that _Gray is in Galuna, too_.

Laxus sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Officially, we don't, but right now Galuna is threatening war, and this is the best way to keep the peace." Natsu nodded to his father and let his hands go slack, feeling a faint sting from where his nails had dug into his palms. With a small "okay", the Prince turned away from the King and put on the blue and gold tunic Lucy had kept fussing about before leaving the room to find said blonde waiting outside with a sad smile.

"I wish he would've told you sooner," she stated quietly. When Natsu's response was a terse nod, she let the matter drop and took his arm to lead him down to where the wedding was going to be held, or in Natsu's mind, to his doomed future.

"What about our kingdoms?" Natsu spoke up. "The public is going to freak out when they find out their only eligible prince is marrying a man. In both kingdoms." Natsu's voice was quiet when he spoke, filled with concern rather than anger like Lucy thought it would be. They were almost to the ballroom of the Sabertooth palace, where the wedding was to take place. Lucy stopped and held Natsu back to avoid being overheard.

"Your parents are doing this to avoid war. A little public outrage is much easier to handle than a large, outraged kingdom," she tried to explain to him, but his eyes looked far away, as if he could pretend he wasn't there. Lucy gave him a sad smile. "Come on," she urged him. "Rogue wanted you and Lyon in the front row." Natsu gave her a little rod and let her lead him away.

* * *

As soon as Natsu sat down next to the snow-haired man, he could tell Lyon felt just as uncomfortable with the situation as he did. Natsu did not want to make the other feel even more awkward, so he said nothing to him, merely offering a polite smile as the wedding began. After the first part of the procession, Lyon visibly relaxed, obviously becoming more comfortable with the person next to him, and he'd have to, if he wanted to be content with the next wedding to come. Even Natsu relaxed some as the wedding went on, subconsciously letting his knee bump against the other man's.

It was easy to pretend that he wasn't stuck in such an unwanted situation when he could—and was supposed—pay attention to the wedding. It was a simple ceremony, over quick, but Natsu couldn't help but to be disappointed when it ended, seeing as that meant he'd have to act the part and go to the reception. With Lyon. And dance. Natsu sighed as he watched the newlyweds march down the aisle, looking dapper in their suits, a large grin across Sting's face, a blush and a smile gracing Rogue's.

Lyon—obviously raised with manners befitting of a prince, unlike Natsu—stood from his chair and offered his hand to the Fire Prince, a half-smile on his face that said he wasn't excited about this situation, but that he'd do what he had to do for his family and his kingdom. For a second, Natsu tensed up and held his breath, as if waiting for the Ice Prince to completely lose it and lash out at him. After regaining his sensing and letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Natsu gave a half-smile of his own and took Lyon's hand.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I've been really excited for this story. So excited, in fact, that I completely forgot the disclaimer and author's note I wanted to put in the first chapter because I wanted to get it out THAT BAD. I'm really ecstatic over all the reviews and feedback I've gotten for this so far, so a big fat THANK YOU to EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED. I also want to say thank you to one of my best friends, Foxanna (I really hope you're reading this, darling :D), and my beta reader, TraitorousFreshman15. She's not beta reading this one, but we've been good friends for over a year now, and she's supported me in everything I've done so far SO THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU'RE READING THIS, JAPAN! I feel like the end of this chapter was a little rushed, but at the same time I think it needed to be that way. I'm going to do my best to make this an every Sunday update, around this time, so keep an eye out! You can also find me on Tumblr as .com, and I'll be doing my best to keep you all up-to-date on their as well. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.**

 **ALSO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO GOT LIKE THREE EMAILS SAYING THIS WAS UPDATED, WAS GIVING ME HUGE ISSUES IN WHICH THE FORMATTING WASN'T SHOWING UP CORRECTLY AFTER I HAD POSTED THE CHAPTER. I APOLOGIZE.**

 **Love, peace, and bacon grease,**  
 **Andi**


End file.
